


The Mermaid and The Pirate

by MagdaleneJaneway



Category: Star Trek: Voyager
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, super sweet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-06
Updated: 2021-02-06
Packaged: 2021-03-17 17:47:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,646
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29229480
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MagdaleneJaneway/pseuds/MagdaleneJaneway
Summary: Kathryn walked up to the console outside of Holodeck Two and keyed in her access code. She and B’Elanna had arranged to have a coinciding day off-duty, and her girlfriend had instructed her to meet her inside the holodeck at 1400.
Relationships: Kathryn Janeway/B'Elanna Torres
Comments: 9
Kudos: 13





	The Mermaid and The Pirate

**Author's Note:**

  * For [JanewaysEngineer](https://archiveofourown.org/users/JanewaysEngineer/gifts).



> This was supposed to be a drabble for FemSlashFeb2021 (Day 6: Mermaid AU) on Tumblr, but it kinda got out of hand....oops.
> 
> My thanks go to dear friend and beta, JanewaysEngineer, who made me do this.

Kathryn walked up to the console outside of Holodeck Two and keyed in her access code. She and B’Elanna had arranged to have a coinciding day off-duty, and her girlfriend had instructed her to meet her inside the holodeck at 1400. She heard the whoosh of the double doors opening and she walked into an apparently empty holodeck. However, as soon as she crossed the threshold by the holodeck arch, her surroundings instantly transformed themselves into a seaside scene. Except instead of standing on a warm sandy beach, she was in the sea! Her body had instinctively begun treading water, with the large muscle groups in her arms and legs thrashing through the seawater. Curious how deep the water was, she looked down and was shocked to discover that where she expected to see her circulating legs, instead there was a large glistening fish tail, languidly waving back and forth in the water below. And her uniform jacket had been replaced by an emerald green bikini top. 

After she got over her shock, she chuckled at B’Elanna’s imagination and programming abilities. She wondered what else was in store, but decided she might as well look the part. She reached up, carefully pulling out the hairpins that held in place her auburn tresses, clipping the pins to the strap of the bikini in case she needed them later, as she smiled to herself. Who knows when she might need to unlock a treasure chest? She reached up and teased her hair until the auburn waves cascaded over her shoulders and dipped into the sea. She dove into the water to fully wet down her hair, then resurfaced to tread water again. 

Looking around, she realized that a little farther down the beach was a large schooner docked, which looked to be from the era when large wooden ships plied the seas of Earth six hundred years ago. Out of curiosity, she swam toward the ship, taking in the tall masts and furled cotton sails. As she got closer, she noticed the black flag of the Jolly Roger, famous for being the preferred banner of pirates. Her heart rate picked up in excitement and a little trepidation. She searched her memory for any clues as to the relationship between pirates and mermaids. Was she approaching friend or foe? She recalled the infamous sirens from Homer’s Odyssey, but mermaids had more of a reputation for frolicking, and maybe a little magic or mystery. She decided B’Elanna wouldn’t place her in danger, so she continued swimming toward the ship, now able to identify figures working up on the deck. She noticed a solitary figure on the quarterdeck whose silhouette seemed somehow familiar. Her eyes began to sparkle as she swam toward the figure, and she laughed in delight when she recognized her girlfriend, clad in leather leggings and a roughspun cotton blouse, and a tricorn hat on her head. “Ahoy there, matey!” the mermaid called out to the pirate.

“I am the Captain of this proud vessel, if you please!” B’Elanna crossed her arms and stood tall upon the deck planking, shouting her reply down to the water below. She beheld the beautiful mermaid swimming in the waters off the starboard stern, her glorious auburn locks fanned out behind her. What a shame it was to have to capture such a glorious creature. She turned to look behind her and shouted, “Now, men!” Three sailors rushed forward to the transom railing and flung a wide net of hemp cording. The net landed squarely upon the mermaid and the sailors quickly pulled the cordage that closed the net around the mermaid. Several other sailors rushed forward to begin hauling the net out of the water, and they all stopped when the mermaid was suspended by the net several feet above the water. A shout went up among the sailors, which B’Elanna quieted with a quick wave of her hand. She nonchalantly leaned on the railing and looked out over the captured mermaid, who seemed none too pleased to be snared by the net. In fact, she was cursing like a sailor.

“B’Elanna! What the fuck is going on?” Kathryn shook at the net, trying to loosen its hold around her. In truth, she wasn’t that uncomfortable. It was a bit like sitting in a lopsided hammock without padding or pillows. Mostly she was just pissed about the surprise attack. “B’Elanna!” she shouted again and fumed.

“I told you, my beauty, that’s Captain Torres to you. I have captured you, a magical mermaid, and according to the laws of the sea, before I release you, you must agree to do my bidding for one day. Do you agree?”

Firmly caught in the net, Kathryn crossed her arms in front of her, “Alright Captain Torres, what do you want me to do for you?”

B’Elanna leaned forward in anticipation, “I want you to take me to Blackbeard’s Treasure, and I want three kisses!” She held three fingers aloft for her pirate crew to see, and another cheer was raised among the sailors.

Kathryn had to hold in her laughter. “Very well, Captain Torres, I agree.”

Another cheer went up among the pirate crew. The sailors immediately got to work lowering the net toward the water. Kathryn looked up as they lowered her into the water and was surprised to see B’Elanna standing atop the railing of the quarterdeck. She had shed her boots and hat, and as Kathryn watched, she did a perfect swan dive into the water below. The Captain swam over to where the mermaid was still enclosed in the net. She pulled out a dagger from its casing strapped to her leg and cut through the rope that gathered the net together. She shook it free until the net fell away from Kathryn’s mermaid form. They swam beside each other, one a pirate and one a mermaid.

“So Captain, how are we supposed to do this?” the mermaid asked.

“Well, according to sea-faring legend, a captured mermaid can share her magical ability to breath underwater with a kiss.”

Kathryn’s eyes lit up and she chuckled, “A kiss? Let me guess, this is the first kiss that you request of me.” When B’Elanna grinned and nodded, Kathryn grabbed hold of the billowing cotton shirt and pulled the Captain’s face to hers. She placed a lingering kiss on her girlfriend’s lips, and she dimly registered that another cheer went up among the sailors. Kathryn used her tail to pull them under the water while they kissed, and sure enough they both had no trouble breathing underwater. Kathryn revelled in the sensuality of kissing underwater. All the seashore sounds were now muted though still audible, and the rhythm of the sea waves carried them in a gentle up and down motion as they held on to each other.

Kathryn pulled away from B’Elanna’s lips and wondered what next. How were they supposed to find Blackbeard’s Treasure? She looked around below them and spotted a bright blue glowing light cast from the front edge of the harbor reef, like a sunrise beyond a horizon. She looked back up at B’Elanna, who she now saw had a small diving sack strapped across her shoulders, and she was pointing toward the blue light. Kathryn nodded at B’Elanna and turned to swim in that direction. She soon determined that with her tail, she was a much better swimmer than B’Elanna, so she grasped her girlfriend’s hand and pulled her along with her as they descended toward the blue glow.

Kathryn marveled at the brilliant colors of the reef. The coral colonies came in all shapes and colors, while the aquatic plants were even more varied. Flitting and flying amongst the gently waving vegetation were schools of colorful fish of every size and shape. Kathryn recognized the graceful angelfish and butterflyfish, the silly pufferfish, and even the tiny little gobie lurking close to the sea floor. She looked back at B’Elanna and she had the same excited grin on her face that Kathryn knew she had plastered on her own face. She turned her gaze back to the reef and startled, stopped swimming holding tightly to B’Elanna’s hand, when she spotted a couple white-tipped reef sharks. But she relaxed when it appeared that the small sharks were more wary of them than anything else, slowly swimming away along the reef. 

It was getting darker the deeper that they swam, even though overhead Kathryn could still see the sunlight glinting off the gentle waves of the harbor, twinkling like starlight from their view below. But where they were headed it was getting darker and the blue glow seemed to brighten in contrast, drawing them toward its mystery. As they finally swam around the edge of the reef to the source of the blue glow, Kathryn realized that the glow emanated from a unique species of phosphorescent coral that seemed to grow only in that one location on this stretch of the reef. Kathryn was fascinated, observing how this coral fit in with all the other species that formed the structural foundation of the reef.

Sitting in the center of the large patch of glowing coral was what could only be their quarry: a very large wooden chest containing Blackbeard’s Treasure. She turned her head to see B’Elanna pointing at the same thing, and Kathryn nodded. As they swam closer, the wooden chest seemed to shimmer and Kathryn saw that the treasure chest was well-guarded by a very large octopus. When they had reached within a couple meters of it, contrary to the reef sharks, it appeared that the octopus was determined to remain draped over the treasure chest, staring at them with unblinking eyes. Movement to her side caught her eye, she turned to see that B’Elanna had unsheathed her dagger and was waving it back and forth in a menacing manner. Kathryn felt faintly alarmed at the sight. She didn’t know if it was because she now sported a fishy tail or what, but she felt some affinity for the cephalopod. She touched B’Elanna’s arm to get her attention, then held up both palms in the direction of the octopus, moving her hands in a gently patting motion. B’Elanna nodded in understanding and slowly swam closer to their objective. She resumed moving the blade back and forth, as if trying to get the creature’s attention. It still didn’t budge from it’s guarded position. So she pointed the blade at the octopus and gently poked one of its arms. At this prompting, the arm of the octopus flinched and pulled back, but the animal remained intransigent. B’Elanna poked another arm, and the octopus seemed to get the message that the pirate presented a real threat. In a blink of an eye, the octopus seemed to flick its arms, receding into the crevices of the reef structure with a whoosh of inky discharge. B’Elanna turned to Kathryn with a thumbs-up signal and a grin. 

B’Elanna turned her attention to the now unguarded treasure chest. She swam up to it and reached out to lift the lid. However, the lid resisted her motion, so B’Elanna sheathed her dagger and tried using two hands to lift the lid, perhaps thinking it was stuck or corroded. But she could tell, by the way the lid bounced a little with her machinations, that it was not corroded but locked. Kathryn could just imagine the Klingon curse words going through B’Elanna’s mind at that moment. But the engineer was not deterred and pulled out her dagger again, trying to ply the small keyhole with the tip of the blade. She was foiled again, her actions clearly getting more frustrated, when Kathryn tapped on her shoulder. B’Elanna turned to see Kathryn holding out to her a small hairpin. 

B’Elanna smiled so broadly it almost looked like she was laughing, and she carefully reached for the pin with the fingers of one hand, while capturing Kathryn’s hand with her other hand. She raised Kathryn’s hand to her lips, placing a kiss in her palm while looking at her with sparkling eyes. Kathryn waited for something magical to happen, but when it didn't, she figured it only counted when the kiss was on the mermaid’s lips. B’Elanna turned back to the small keyhole armed with the hairpin, and soon had the chest unlocked. She gleefully glanced at Kathryn, who grinned back, and lifted the large chest lid with both hands. They both stared with widened eyes and open mouths.

The chest was nearly overflowing with gold doubloons and adamantine jewels of every color. They both reached out reverentially to stroke their fingers through the precious baubles that gleamed in the light of the phosphorescent coral. Sitting on top of the treasure pile was a beautiful glittering emerald the size of a goose’s egg. B’Elanna reached for the huge emerald, picking it up between her thumb and forefinger, and held it up to the ethereal blue light of the coral. It was gorgeous. B’Elanna casually released the emerald from her fingers, then snatched it up in her palm before it fell too far. She pulled open her dive sack and carefully placed the gem in the sack, securing the closure tightly. She looked up and grinned at her mermaid, giving her a thumbs-up signal.

B’Elanna reached for Kathryn’s hand and pointed back the way they came, indicating that she wanted to swim up and shoreward. Kathryn nodded and, with a flip of her tail, started them back upward. They hadn’t swum that deep, but Kathryn was careful to not rise too quickly, swimming in a longer trajectory than their descent, which would bring them up closer to the beach. Kathryn turned back once to gaze at the beautiful reef scene, before returning to their ascent trajectory.

When they finally reached the sun-sparkled surface, Kathryn gladly broke through to fresh sea air and the sounds of the seaside. Curiously, B’Elanna held back, still underwater, as if she was steeling herself for a dreaded task. Kathryn squeezed her hand, and B’Elanna squeezed back before rising to the surface. B’Elanna broke through the water with a smile, but almost immediately started gasping like a landed fish. “The. Second. Kiss.” B’Elanna gasped out a word at a time, “Lets. Me. Breath. Air. Again.” Alarmed at her beloved’s struggle to breathe, Kathryn’s lips crashed onto B’Elanna’s lips, kissing her deeply and passionately, almost willing her to breathe normally. She was fearful for a moment when they pulled apart and B’Elanna again gasped, but it was only the breathlessness of their passionate kissing, and she soon breathed easy, smiling at her girlfriend. “Thanks!” B’Elanna said with obvious relief and appreciation.

“What was that?!” Kathryn exclaimed, still feeling tinges of receding panic. “That was horrible—it wasn’t part of the bargain we struck! I wouldn’t have agreed to it, if I knew that was going to happen.” Her voice was calming but her heart rate was slower to follow.

B’Elanna placed her hands on Kathryn’s shoulders, trying to reassure her that she was alright. “I knew what was going to happen so I wasn’t afraid.” She shrugged, “I figured it was like Aladdin’s three wishes, anything magical like that comes with a risk.”

Kathryn still looked at her with suspicious annoyance, but then her grimace turned into a smirk, “You knew what was going to happen? So you knew that I would save you with a second kiss?

B’Elanna shyly looked down, as much as a half Klingon can look shy, “Well, I hoped you would save me with a second kiss….,” she paused, “otherwise you would have had some explaining to do for the Doctor,” she smirked.

Then Kathryn remembered their agreement. “So, what does the third kiss do?”

B’Elanna tugged her hand, saying “Let’s get into the shallows before I explain that one to you.” They swam until B’Elanna could touch the sandy bottom, when Kathryn found it easier to roll onto her back, using her tail to push her toward the shoreline. When they got to the point where there was only a couple feet of water depth remaining, B’Elanna took her hands and hauled her into the splash zone of the surf, beaching her big fishy tail so that it was partially exposed above the water. Kathryn finally got a good look at her mermaid tail, and she marveled at the sheen of the silvery-green scales and the spread of the tail fin. She flipped the tail in the shallows so that sea spray splattered in B’Elanna’s direction, causing them both to laugh. Laying beside her in the shallow water, B’Elanna rose up on her elbows, “Are you sure that you want to start something?” she said with a hint of challenge in her voice.

Kathryn chuckled, “No, I suppose not. Why don’t you tell me about this third kiss? What kind of magic does it entail?”

B’Elanna laughed, “It’s funny that you should use the word en-TAIL,” she chuckled before continuing. “The legend of the captured mermaid goes on to say that the third kiss is entirely up to the mermaid. That if she desires it, she may shed her tail and gain legs to become fully human.” B’Elanna looked at Kathryn as she seemed to process the information, “So what do you think? Do you want to hang onto your tail for a little while longer, or do you want your legs back?”

Kathryn realized that their holodeck time would end eventually, and she would regain her legs at that time. She thought about this marvelous adventure that must have taken B’Elanna a lot of time and effort to plan and holo-program. Her heart swelled with emotion that her girlfriend took so much care in designing this gift for her. Her eyes glistened, “What do I want? I really just want to kiss you for gifting me with such a marvelous day.” She leaned into B’Elanna where they lay side-by-side in the shallow water, pressing her lips to B’Elanna’s, enjoying the soft sensuality as her lips parted and their tongues explored the silken warmth of each other’s mouth. Kathryn had begun to roll toward her beloved, but she pulled away from their kiss when she began to feel a loosening in her lower extremity. The cohesion of the tail dissolved and she felt her legs begin to separate and move individually. Her toes dug into the sugar-soft sand. She gasped at the renewed sensations of being bipedal again, kicking her legs in the water like a young child. She laughed at her own antics and looked up at B’Elanna, “It worked! I’ve got legs again.”

B’Elanna chuckled, “I’m glad,” she said, reaching down past the matching emerald green bikini bottom to grab the back of Kathryn’s thigh and slowly, seductively pulling it up over her hip. “And quite shapely legs they are at that…” she said as she leaned toward Kathryn for another kiss.

Kathryn lurched backward in alarm, gently holding her distance with her hands, “Wait! What will happen with this kiss?!” she asked with wide eyes.

B’Elanna chuckled then confessed, “I only coded changes to the holo-program for the first three kisses, darling. There’s no more magic left, just me and my abiding love for you.” 

Kathryn thought that if she hadn’t already been laying down, that she just may have melted into a swoon at those sweet words. As it was, she melted into B’Elanna’s arms and gladly accepted her lingering, loving kiss. Kathryn parted from B’Elanna’s lips with a sigh and laid her head on her girlfriend’s shoulder, taking a few minutes to enjoy the sounds of the seaside and the wash of the surf across their legs.

Finally, filled with peaceful satisfaction, Kathryn lifted her head and looked into B’Elanna’s warm chocolate eyes, “Thank you, my love, for this wonderful adventure. I could not have imagined or planned a better day. This has been truly unforgettable!”

B’Elanna chuckled and reached into the dive bag that was still slung across her shoulder. She pulled out the emerald gem, “And to help you remember, this is yours to keep, as a memento of the adventure of the mermaid and the pirate.” She smiled broadly at Kathryn’s surprised and delighted expression, nodding at the question on her face. “It’s yours, not holographic.” 

Just as Kathryn leaned in for one more kiss they heard the computer announce, “Ten minute warning on holodeck reservation.” They both sighed, paused, then sat up in the warm sand. Kathryn looked down at her attire, and blushed at the thought of walking through the corridors in the scanty bikini, “I hope you thought of something for this…” she said waving a hand up and down her body.

B’Elanna chuckled as she rose, “I don’t know, I think you look fantastic,” she smirked. Catching the death glare from her Captain, she called out, “Computer, beachwear.” A beach bag shimmered into existence before them. B’Elanna picked up the bag and held it open for Kathryn’s inspection, “You have your choice of returning to your uniform, or slipping into a beach coverup. 

Kathryn looked in the bag seeing the two choices, then reached up to softly caress B’Elanna’s cheek, wordlessly thanking her for giving her the choice. She reached for the sandals and the ankle-length kaftan of shimmering blue silk. “You thought of everything, and beautifully so. This is gorgeous,” she stroked the silken robe as she dropped it down over her shoulders. “Come on, let’s go, my sexy pirate Captain,” she said, grabbing B’Elanna’s hand. She wanted to depart the holodeck with the idyllic scene intact, so she could remember it that way.

As they walked out of the holodeck, B’Elanna leaned toward Kathryn’s ear, “Remember, you agreed to do my bidding for a whole day.” Kathryn’s eyes widened and a small smirk began to bloom.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading--I hope you had as much fun as I did!


End file.
